Director David Yates is looking for the perfect actor to play the young wizard

DAISY JORDAN

9 Nov 2016, 11:43

Updated: 8 Feb 2017, 12:43

WHEN Albus Dumbledore died in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, he broke the hearts of fans everywhere.

But if you were one of the many devastated Potter lovers, there's good news.

The beloved character will return for the sequel of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, director David Yates confirmed this week.

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Dumbledore will make his return in the Fantastic Beasts sequelCredit: Alamy

Speaking at a round table for the first movie, which arrives on November 18, he said, "In the second movie Dumbledore comes back. He's got a couple of good scenes with Newt."

Yates, who also directed four Potter movies, also welcomed suggestions for actors who could play the much-loved wizard.

"We're discussing who would play Dumbledore, any suggests would be good!"

The lucky actor will be playing a young Dumbledore as the spin-off is set in the 1920s, so unfortunately the Potter actor Sir Michael John Gambon is not in the running.

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The wizard, who is the headmaster of Hogwarts in Harry Potter, died in the Potter filmsCredit: Getty Images

Meanwhile Johnny Depp has finally been confirmed to be playing a young Gellert Grindelwald in the sequel, who will be working closely with whoever lands the coveted role, as Dumbledore as the pair are best friends in the books.

Yates spoke of his choice to cast the Alice Through the Looking Glass star to The Leaky Cauldron, saying, "Johnny Depp is a real artist. He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor.

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"We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character. He’s fearless; he’s imaginative; he’s ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis.

"We don’t care if he’s famous or not famous. We just know he’s interesting."

The news comes as author JK Rowling announced that the upcoming Fantastic Beasts film would be the first of five movies the team would release over the coming years.